Speaking the Law (Chapter 1), by Kenneth Anderson and Benjamin Wittes

Over the course of President Obama’s first term in office, the president and senior officials of his administration have given a series of major speeches on the legal framework for confronting terrorists overseas. The speeches collectively represent the fullest statement the administration has given of the law of drones, targeted killing, and the larger approach to the war against Al Qaeda and its allies. The Obama administration has faced criticism both for the content of the speeches and for not saying more in them—and releasing the legal memos that lie beneath them. In Speaking the Law, Kenneth Anderson and Benjamin Wittes dissect the Obama administration’s major speeches on national security law—analyzing what the administration has actually said, fleshing out the virtues and vices of the legal framework it has mapped out, and suggesting areas for legislative refinement and further administration development.